Nice Day For A White Wedding
by RatherBeAWriter
Summary: Emily's wedding day is fast approaching and she might just need a little assistance from her friends. Good thing the women of the BAU are as skilled at handling mother in laws as they are at catching criminals. Spin-off/Follow-up to Hopes and Fears
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm reluctant to call it a sequel because the focus is going to be on JJ, Emily and Garcia, so let's go with this being a spin-off from Hopes and Fears. But there will be plenty JJ, Will and family! I'll be keeping this light and fluffy and reasonably short. Because that way I can tell myself it's not really starting a new story when I still have three unfinished!**

**I hope you like the introduction. As always, feedback is very welcome. **

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing to do with Criminal Minds.**

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"We're in London," JJ announced, pressing her cellphone to her ear with one hand, balancing Georgia on her hip using the other arm, and praying that Henry stayed close to their luggage trolley.

"How was the flight?" Will asked, absent-mindedly shuffling through the notes on his desk, back in DC.

"We're in London," she repeated dryly, glaring at Henry, warning him not to take a step further towards the baggage carousel. The looks reserved for dangerous criminals and those reserved for her children had a tendency to merge into one at times.

Will smirked, trying not give any audible sign of his amusement. He shouldn't have laughed. An international flight alone with two children under ten was not a laughing matter. But he couldn't help that his sergeant's exam was the same week as Emily's wedding.

"How's the studying going?" she asked.

"It's goin' fine," he replied, her glance falling to the assortment of empty coffee cups on the desk. "But I wish I was with you."

"You're still going to make it before Saturday?" she asked, half pleading. Her children were her world, but right now she was jet-lagged and, somehow, despite it being the reason for flying out so early, Henry and Georgia were not.

"Course I am," he assured her. "I wouldn't miss Georgia's big moment for the world."

They shared a laugh. It was telling of the fact Emily didn't have children that she was incorporating the toddler into her wedding.

"Make sure you get some sleep tonight," JJ instructed, knowing that Will had been cramming like a student during finals.

"Yes, ma'am," he laughed. "Enjoy catchin' up with Emily."

JJ grinned at the much needed reminder of the reason behind the flight from hell, as Georgia made a break for freedom, causing her to drop her cellphone and bring her conversation to an abrupt end.

Around two years since she'd hesitantly announced her engagement, Emily Prentiss was finally getting married.

/  
/

Emily was waiting just beyond the arrivals gate, looking so pristine that JJ's excitement to see her friend was almost tainted by jealousy. While her own shirt was covered in apple juice and pieces of the sandwich Georgia had chewed before turning down, the brunette looked as flawless as she appeared on every video call. And she didn't seem to have aged a day since they last got together. Life at Interpol obviously suited her well. Or maybe it was a certain barrister that made her look so happy.

"Emily!" Henry called, rushing straight towards her and immediately forgetting the rule that he wasn't to leave JJ's side.

Emily wrapped her arms around him, seemingly in awe at how much taller he'd grown since she last saw him in person. Sometimes she felt like she'd only left the States yesterday, but seeing JJ with her nine year old son and three year old daughter made her realise just how long it had really been.

"When did they get so big?" she gasped, as she turned towards JJ and Georgia. The youngest child was hiding her face against her mother's neck, suddenly shy at the sight of the woman she only really knew from a computer screen.

"About the same time Will and I started getting grey hairs!" the blonde replied, straightening up her daughter's sweater as she tried to coax the little girl out of her sudden shyness. "Do you want to say hi to Emily?" she prompted.

Georgia shook her head, tucking herself closer to her mother's form. If only she'd been so reserved when it came to singing along to the Disney movies they'd watched on the plane.

"Well, that's too bad," Emily grinned. "Because I have a present for a little girl called Georgia, and I don't know anyone else with that name."

Slowly, Georgia turned around, hiding her smile behind a small fist.

"Hi, Em'ly," she mumbled through her fingers.

"Hi there," Emily replied. "Are you excited to be in London?"

Georgia nodded, revealing more of her smile as she became more confident.

"How about you?" she asked, turning to Henry, who was trying not to be too obvious in the way he eyed the blue gift bag in her hand. While she tried to get back to DC once or twice a year, JJ hadn't brought her family to the UK since the vacation they'd taken as she recovered from her abduction. The journey wasn't quite so straightforward with two children in tow.

"I get to miss a whole week of school," he grinned.

Emily laughed at his response. She missed her friends' children and partners almost as much as she missed her friends themselves. As happy and settled as she was in her new life, she'd been looking forward to having them around just as much as she was to the wedding.

/  
/

"I'm so glad you're here," Emily smiled as they left the airport terminal. Henry and Georgia, happily preoccupied with their new toys, were finally following JJ's exasperated instructions and walking alongside the adults, giving the two friends a chance to talk.

"Garcia driving you crazy already?" JJ teased. The technical analyst, and chief wedding planner, had arrived two days earlier. While there was a lot she'd been able to do remotely, the final touches required her to chase up florists and caterers in person.

"Garcia is a godsend," Emily replied. "It's other people that are testing my patience."

"Your mom?" the blonde woman suggested with a knowing look.

"Let's just say it's a good thing I have a manicure booked before Saturday," she responded, showing her friend the frayed remains of her nails with a dramatic flourish.

JJ laughed - it made a change to see Emily stressing over things they could joke about. While there may have been moments when it felt like it, dealing with the Ambassador wouldn't actually kill the former FBI agent.

"Peter's mom is great fun too," Emily muttered sarcastically, glancing over the parking lot to where her soon-to-be mother in law waited impatiently in the car. "You got off lightly with a last minute surprise wedding."

JJ followed Emily's gaze and noticed the woman sitting in the front passenger seat, wearing an expression that would rival the most difficult teenager's and purposefully avoiding looking in their direction. She'd definitely got lucky with Will's family.

"My mom adores Peter's mom," the brunette continued. "They're like a tag team when it comes to pointing out my inadequacies as bride." Her smile became more tightly plastered to her face as she spoke through gritted teeth.

JJ stopped, turning towards her friend, whose blood pressure seemed to be rising by the second. She raised her eyebrows until Emily stopped muttering, and then allowed her face to relax into a wide smile.

"Well, now you've got your wedding planner _and _your maid of honour here. And three outnumber two."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If I'd realised how long it would take me to produce another chapter that I was happy with, I'd have held off on posting this story! Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy the update. My flatmate commented on how engrossed I was in my studying earlier (lol) so I certainly seem to have enjoyed writing it!**

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"So, Agent Jareau, are you married?"

It had taken the length of time for the waitress to bring their drinks, and Emily to excuse herself to take a phonecall from Peter, for Cynthia to launch into her interrogation.

"Yes," JJ replied patiently. "For five years now."

She didn't miss the way the older woman's eyes glanced towards Henry at the mention of the duration of her marriage. Emily hadn't been exaggerating when she'd mentioned how much fun her future mother in law could be.

"What does your husband have to say about your line of work?"

"He's a police detective so he understands the hours. In fact, he's preparing for his sergeant's exam just now," JJ replied, showing no sign of her disdain for the line of questioning. She'd dealt with some the slimiest reporters America had to offer. Sweetly feigning cooperation was like second nature.

Cynthia failed to show even the remotest trace of interest at JJ's answer, but was prevented form launching another attack by Emily's return.

"Peter's running late. He'll join us when he can,"Emily explained, sliding back into her seat.

"With the hours you two work, it's probably for the best that you don't have children together," Cynthia remarked, taking a sip from her wine glass, as JJ almost choked on her own drink at the immensely personal nature of the dig.

"Yes, probably for the best," Emily replied, barely batting an eyelid at the comment. The woman's dislike of the fact she had no plans to provide her with grandchildren was just one of their many ongoing points of contention.

"But then again, Alison had Sarah, and she kept up a career."

"It's amazing she managed all of that, and was still able to make such good friends with Peter's business partner," Emily retaliated. "Henry, can you pass me that menu?" she added, without pausing for breath.

JJ's eyes grew wide as she diverted her attention to the picture Georgia was colouring. Emily had obviously moved beyond the stage of smiling politely at the woman's opinions.

"I think I'm going to have pasta tonight," she commented after a few moments consideration. "Maybe carbonara. I'm starving!"

"Don't you have your dress fitting in the morning?" Cynthia commented, barely glancing up from her menu. "You don't want to be bloated."

Emily opened her mouth, irritation flashing across her eyes, as she prepared to retaliate.

"Pasta sounds good," JJ interjected. "How about the mac and cheese, Henry?"

The nine year-old looked up with an expression of puzzlement. One of the benefits of being old enough to read for himself was that he usually got to order his own food. And his mom was acting really weird.

"Can I not have pizza, Mom?" he asked.

"Of course you can," JJ smiled, sounding far too cheerful and enthusiastic. "What about you, Georgia? What do you want to eat?"

Her daughter put down her crayon and studied her mother with the same look of distrust her brother had worn.

"Mommy, you're smiling too big," she stated in a loud whisper, which caused JJ to immediately adjust her expression and rejoin the child in colouring the rainbow on the paper in front of them.

However, neither of the other women had noticed JJ's overcompensating behaviour. Cynthia was too busy smirking at Emily's obvious annoyance and Emily was preoccupied with picking at her nails, as she tried to stop herself saying or doing something she would regret.

It was only when the waitress returned that JJ was reminded they still had the actual meal to get through.

It was going to be a long evening.

/  
/

"Kids all settled?" Penelope asked, as JJ returned to the living room. The excruciating dinner had finally come to an end, without an appearance from Peter to tame his mother, and they had returned to Emily's apartment to meet up with Penelope.

"Georgia was asleep before I even got her into bed," JJ nodded, dropping down on the sofa with an exhausted sigh. "And I don't think I'll be much longer," she yawned.

JJ, Penelope and the children were staying in Emily's apartment for the duration of their time in London. In a manner that reassured them love hadn't entirely changed their friend, Emily had held onto the property long after moving in with Peter. Just in case it was needed.

"You'd better stay awake long enough for this," Emily laughed, placing three wine glasses on the table and opening the bottle in her hand. "I need a drink tonight!"

"Cynthia is certainly persistent," JJ agreed, choosing the least offensive adjective which came to mind. The woman was practically family to Emily after all.

"Persistent?" the brunette scoffed. "She's completely insane!"

Garcia and JJ shared a laugh as Emily paced across to the window, taking a large gulp of wine before she launched into a rant about the woman. For a good ten minutes, no one else had much of an opportunity to get a word in, apart from the occasional expression of agreement or sympathy.

"Feeling better, kitten?" Penelope asked, when Emily finally threw herself down on the sofa and fell quiet.

Without a word, JJ topped up her friend's glass, stifling a laugh as she did so.

"She's going to kill me before Saturday. Or I'll kill her. If she makes one more comment about my dress, or my weight, or the colour of the chair covers..."

"The colour of the chair covers?" JJ remarked, raising her eyebrows in amusement. She couldn't imagine Emily noticing a detail like that, let alone coming to blows with someone over it.

"Once again, be grateful someone else planned your wedding," Emily muttered, shaking her head as she drank another large mouthful of wine.

/  
/

The sound of the grown-ups laughing roused Georgia from her sleep, and for a moment she forgot where she was. The bed was far too big to be her own, and she had to roll over and shuffle forwards to get to the edge. Upon reaching the safety of the floor she padded across the bedroom towards where her brother slept. After declaring he was too old to share a bed with his mother and sister, Henry had settled down on an air mattress in the corner of the room, and had quickly succumbed to his delayed jet lag.

"Henry?" Georgia half-whispered, crouching beside her older brother. "Wake up," she instructed.

Henry slept on. After years of his parents returning home at all hours of the night, it took a lot more than a quiet three year old to disturb his sleep. Plus, from the noisy months which had followed her arrival, he'd grown particularly adept to tuning Georgia out.

Pouting slightly, she gave up on her brother's company and made her way into the hallway of the strange apartment. If it hadn't been for the clear sound of her mother's voice just down the hallway, she'd have been a lot warier of her unfamiliar surroundings.

"Mommy?" she mumbled, stumbling sleepily through to the living room.

"Oh, sweetie, did we wake you up?" Garcia asked, as the toddler made her way towards her mother and clambered into her lap.

Georgia nodded, her thumb sliding into her mouth as JJ wrapped her arms around her and smoothed down her messy hair.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, watching her daughter nestle close to her body. "Do you want me to tuck you back into bed?"

"No," she mumbled. "Wanna stay, please."

JJ smiled, kissing the top of her daughter's head. Georgia was still reluctant to accept that she was supposed to stay in bed _all_ night long and late night cuddles were a common occurrence.

"Can I have juice?" she asked, eyeing JJ's half-empty glass on the table beside them.

"Maybe not the same juice as Mommy," JJ replied, as the others laughed. "But if you ask Emily nicely, she might have some apple juice for you."

The little girl turned towards her aunt and watched the woman through wide, expectant eyes.

"Can I have juice please?" she asked, so quietly that her words were only just audible.

"Of course you can," Emily replied, crossing through to the kitchen with a warm smile on her face. If all children were like JJ's, she might even have entertained Cynthia's patent pleas to be made a grandmother again.

At the same time, a shrieked "aww" escaped Garcia's lips. Her god daughter never failed to make her heart melt.

JJ shook her head and laughed. She was utterly convinced that, in three short years, Georgia had mastered exactly how to manipulate all the adults in her life. The fact that she was sitting up, with someone fetching her a cup of juice, when she ought to have been sleeping was the perfect example.

"Trust me ladies, she _really_ isn't this shy," she warned her friends.

They smiled, humouring the opinion of the slightly frazzled parent, but remained under the toddler's spell. JJ sighed, taking the cup of juice from Emily and passing it into Georgia's waiting hands. The wedding was still a few days away, and she would put good money on it that her children would show their more "spirited" side by then. It was only a matter of time.

/  
/

It was long after midnight by the time Emily returned home. Eventually, Georgia had been coaxed back to bed, and JJ had fallen asleep on the sofa. Even then she'd been reluctant to leave. It had been the right choice to move to London, but that didn't mean she hadn't left a family behind. Girls' nights weren't quite the same without JJ and Penelope.

When Peter returned, she was still awake, reading a battered Vonnegut novel in bed. She barely had to glance at the pages to remember the words, but she was too tired to concentrate on any new material. Re-reading old favourites had become a habit while she waited up for him, and when the roles were reversed he'd be found half-asleep in front of a black and white Western.

"Did you have a good night?" he asked, leaning over the bed to kiss her, before he began to undress.

He smiled as he tasted a hint of wine behind the stronger flavour of her toothpaste. At least one of them had made it out of the office in time to enjoy the evening.

"I'm so glad they're here," she nodded, her happiness still evident on her face.

"Are the little ones happy to see their Aunt Em'ly?" he grinned, having been in the background of quite a few video calls with the excited children.

"They've grown so much since we were last in DC," she replied. "They're not babies any more."

He watched her smile as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. If there was one thing he didn't need reminded of, it was how quickly children grew up.

"Speaking of children..." he began, tentatively, as Emily's smile slipped. "I need to ask you a favour."

"What?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously and placing her book on the duvet.

"I'm in court tomorrow. I don't know for how long, but Alison called, and well, Sarah really wanted to see us before the wedding..." He stopped, leaving the actual favour as something he hoped she'd be able to work out.

"And being the cool dad that you are, you thought she'd enjoy a dress fitting better than an investment fraud trial?" Emily completed, raising her eyebrows.

"Exactly," he replied with a hopeful but apologetic grin. "You don't mind?"

"She's your daughter - why would I mind?" she smiled, with only the slightest trace of sarcasm in her voice, which thankfully went undetected.

Removing the last of his clothes and sliding between the sheets, he rolled on top of his fiancée and kissed her firmly on the lips.

"I love you, Emily Prentiss," he told her.

"You'd better," she replied, a genuine smile once again reaching her eyes.

If she needed any confirmation that he was the one, it was the fact that she was willing to spend the next morning being laced into a white dress, while her mother, his mother, and now his teenage daughter, stood around and judged. She only hoped her bridesmaids would be well rested for the day ahead, because they were all going to need some serious strength.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I seem to have been hit by the inspiration to resurrect my unfinished stories this weekend. I forgot how much I enjoyed writing the fluffiness of this one! Hope you like it. **

/  
/

As a mother, there were few sounds in the world which JJ enjoyed more than her children's laughter. No matter what she saw or did as an agent, the feeling of hopelessness or despair could be soothed by hearing their voices, or picturing them playing together. Despite the six year age gap, Henry and Georgia were as thick as thieves. Georgia worshipped her brother, spending endless weekends and summers following him around the yard, learning all the best games. In turn, Henry was always there to help her up when she stumbled over an enemy booby trap, or to hold her hand in the playground. They fought of course – just as all siblings did – but JJ could always depend on them to brighten her day.

From the weak light which was breaking through the blinds, it couldn't have been much later than seven o'clock, but she was slowly waking up. As she turned her stiff neck and stretched out her arms, the dreams of her children still lingered in her mind. They were laughing, probably at some cartoon or something silly that Will had done to make them smile. She smiled too, thinking ahead to the time they'd get to spend together as a family before they returned to work after the wedding. It had been too long since they took a vacation.

But as she gradually became more attuned to the waking world, the sound of laughter didn't stop, and it became clear that it wasn't in her dreams. It stemmed from the living room of Emily's apartment, where she had fallen asleep on the sofa the night before. And that wasn't just laughter; that was hushed giggling.

"Sshh! You're gonna wake Mom," Henry chastised his little sister.

The toddler let one more high pitched giggle escape her mouth before she quietened herself by chewing on the ear of her teddy.

JJ sighed, wondering what they had found to get up to so early in the morning. Their vivid imaginations, which produced their many make believe adventures, also led to trouble.

Still a little groggy and stiff from her night sleeping on the sofa, she scanned the room and found them huddled under the dining table. As their mother approached, her eyes falling to the electronic tablet clutched in Henry's hands, a shared expression of guilt crossed their faces.

"What's going on?" JJ demanded, standing with one hand on her hip and her eyebrows raised.

"Nothing," Henry replied quickly, shaking his head at Georgia to prevent her answering and tilting the tablet closer to his body so his mother couldn't see the screen.

"Henry," she warned.

"Hey? JJ?" a very familiar voice sounded from the device, betraying the children before they had any chance to come up with a lie.

"We want to talk to Daddy," Georgia explained, always being the first to come clean when they were caught out.

JJ reached out for the tablet, unsure whether she was angry or just impressed that they'd managed to get the video call to connect, when it normally took her half an hour of trial and error.

"Everythin' okay, darlin'?" Will grinned, as she turned the screen towards her. It hadn't taken long for him to work out what was going on.

"I think your children miss you," she answered.

"My children?" he laughed.

She nodded, smoothing down her tousled hair as she caught sight of her appearance on the screen. When they'd managed to find trouble before it was even time for breakfast, they were definitely all his.

"Did they wake you?" she asked, suddenly remembering the time difference.

"I'm still up," he assured her, indicating the stack of paper and books beside him on their bed. "Got a section on eyewitness identification to cover tonight."

JJ frowned at the dark circles beneath his eyes. "Tonight" was rapidly heading towards tomorrow. Their children's misbehaviour was temporarily forgotten as she focussed on her husband.

"You need to sleep," she reminded him gently. "You're ready for this exam."

"I'm fine," he told her. It wasn't like late nights and long hours were a foreign concept to him. "I just want to do well."

"You will," she assured him. "You've got this."

For years he'd supported her while her career developed, through her transfer out of the BAU and then her transition from media liaison to profiler. He'd spent many nights quizzing her from flashcards or proofreading her reports. It didn't seem fair to have left him alone for the same.

"Do you want me to come home?" she asked. "I've got the time off work and I could help you study. We could still both be here in time for the wedding."

The plan was quickly piecing together in her head. She could leave Henry and Georgia with Penelope and be back with Will to help him through the final two days of preparation for his exam. As much as it was nice to be reunited, Emily would understand.

"I'm okay, JJ," he cut her off. "Emily needs her girl more than I do this week."

He smiled, though she continued to look unconvinced.

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

"I'm sure," he promised. "Now, let me talk to _my_ kids."

Henry's face dropped as he realised the making of the call hadn't been forgotten. JJ tried not to laugh as Will gave her a knowing smirk. The children were still young enough to be fooled by his strict southern father act, while Will was very much aware that it was their mother the children should be afraid of in these situations.

"Henry? Georgia?" Will's voice called for his children, as JJ handed the tablet back to a little boy who was suddenly very unwilling to participate in the video call.

/  
/

In the kitchen of the house which was only just starting to feel like a home, Emily sipped her coffee and flicked through the binder of hairstyles which Garcia had strategically positioned where it couldn't be ignored. She laughed as she came across one elaborate up-do marked with a bright pink post-it note. Her friend had some strange ideas when it came to styling the bride for her wedding.

The sound of the shower running upstairs told her that Peter had finally dragged himself out of bed. She'd never met someone who was simultaneously so dedicated to his work and his sleep. Twisting her engagement ring on her finger she wondered, for the hundredth time in the past week, how she'd ended up here. Six years ago, when she'd left the BAU, all she wanted was to feel at home again but she never thought this was what she would find. In four days' time she would be someone's wife and someone's stepmother. And despite the fact she wouldn't have things any other way, that terrified her.

At the ringing of the doorbell, she realised there might be another reason behind Peter's late shower. There was only one person it could be at this time.

Approaching the frosted glass door, the silhouettes shining through from the other side confirmed her suspicions and she fixed her most cheerful grin to her face.

"Emily!" the visitor exclaimed, her surprise delaying the appearance of her usual false smile. "It's so good to see you."

Emily resisted the urge to utter any of the sarcastic responses which darted wickedly round her head. She'd lived with Peter for two years now. How could it still be a surprise to find her opening the door?

"Hi, Alison," she greeted her fiancé's ex-wife, her smile refusing to slip, despite her thoughts. "Hey, Sarah."

Sarah nodded, and responded with a half smile, before she brushed past the adults and into the house, without removing either of her earphones.

"Peter's in the shower," Emily explained. "Do you want to come in and wait? I just made coffee."

Alison's expression morphed into a grimace at the thought.

"We spoke on the phone yesterday. I'll pick Sarah up from the reception on Saturday."

Emily kept a tight control of her true feelings as Alison spoke. It was too close to the wedding to risk provoking the other woman, but the fierce loyalty Emily had to her family extended to Peter now, and she hated the tone of disdain she expressed whenever his name was mentioned. He wasn't the one who'd had an affair.

"Thank you for dropping her off. It means a lot to Peter that she's here for the wedding. And to me."

Diplomacy was certainly a useful skill around Alison.

"Well she is his daughter," the woman responded, itching to leave before further conversation was necessary.

After an awkward and hurried goodbye, both women were relieved from the discomfort and went their separate ways.

"How's it going, Sarah?" Emily asked, following the teenager into the living room in the hope she might be a little warmer than her mother.

Sarah shrugged, too focussed on texting to give more of a response.

"Do you want any breakfast?"

She paused for a moment, ready to turn down anything Emily had to offer with a roll of her eyes. The past week had been spent making jokes with her friends about her wicked stepmother, and complaining that she'd have to spend her weekend at the wedding, but she wasn't being entirely honest in her description of her dad's fiancée. Emily had no idea how to be a step parent but she was nice and she tried.

"I've already eaten," she responded politely. "Mum's set on the idea of breakfast being the most important meal of the day."

Emily smiled. Of course she would have been fed on egg whites, chia seeds and kale before she was allowed to leave her house in the morning. Emily would never be allowed to live down the day she made the mistake of giving the girl Coco Pops before she dropped her at school.

"Penelope and JJ are looking forward to meeting you today," she told Sarah. "And you'll love JJ's daughter, Georgia."

Sarah smiled again and then returned her attention to her phone with a frown.

"You and Dad need to get better Wi-Fi."

/  
/

"Maybe you could take it in another half an inch at the waist?"

The suggestion was met with one nod of agreement and one exasperated sigh, as the tension rose in the fitting area of the small boutique.

"Mom, I think it will be a better day for everyone if I'm able to breathe as I walk down the aisle," Emily muttered, as the unfortunate woman tasked with making the final adjustments to her dress pulled the material tighter.

"Stop being so dramatic," her mother chastised.

Emily turned desperately towards JJ and Penelope for support. If this fitting had to be treated like some kind of spectator sport, then she wasn't missing out on the chance to have someone in her corner.

"How about a quarter of an inch?" JJ suggested. So far, her role as maid of honour had consisted of making several tactical interventions between mother and daughter, and it looked set to continue.

"Or I could skip the dress altogether?" Emily counter-proposed. She'd fought with herself over whether to wear a traditional white dress in the first place, and now a simple, store-bought outfit carried fresh appeal. As did getting on the next flight to Vegas.

The glares which came from every face in the room, told her no one found her suggestion remotely funny.

"Would anyone like some champagne?" the second shop assistant offered, before Elizabeth or Cynthia could respond.

Penelope took her turn to politely decline the offer. It was quarter past eleven in the morning and drinks had already been offered and turned down three times. Despite the staffs' best efforts to make the occasion an enjoyable, girly outing, it was apparent that anything to do with the wedding had to be conducted with business like clarity.

"Why don't we get the bridesmaids into their dresses?" Elizabeth suggested. "We haven't seen you all together yet. Jennifer, could you help Sarah and Georgia with their outfits?"

Cynthia nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's been so hard to co-ordinate their dresses when they live on opposite sides of the Atlantic," she complained.

JJ, who had quickly learned that the older women were very much the ones to call the shots, moved to do as she had been asked. However, she was stopped when Penelope, who had been periodically checking her cellphone for the past half hour, suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, a sinking feeling immediately hitting her.

"There's been a mix up with the timings for collecting the candles and favours for the reception," she explained, hurriedly. "I'll need to go – and JJ – we have to get them now and there are too many boxes to manage on my own."

"I'll help too," Emily quickly volunteered.

"Don't be silly," Cynthia cut in. "You're the bride and you still don't have a dress that fits properly."

Penelope gave Emily an apologetic shrug, as she and JJ prepared to leave. JJ lifted Georgia onto her hip and smiled at her friend to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. She would have been lying if she denied being a little bit relieved by their early release from the boutique.

"Is it okay for us to come back later today?" she asked one of the shop assistants.

The woman confirmed that it was and before Emily could protest further her friends were on their way. She turned to the woman sticking pins into the hem of her dress with a pleading look. Surely someone in the room was on her side.

"Now, why don't we try pulling the waist in three-quarters of an inch," Elizabeth's voice instructed as the shop door jingled closed.


End file.
